Serpent and the Wolf
by Emetheria
Summary: A pair of travelers, A pair of Knights. A chance meeting, and a war that threatens the very core of the world. AU, Fantasy.
1. Natsuki

**Chapter 1 - Natsuki**

It was a beautiful day in the capitol city of the Fuuka kingdom. The bright orange sun radiated in the crystal clear blue sky, and snow white clouds drifted lazily across the massive expanse. The temperature was warm, and the atmosphere was as far from humid as could it could possibly be. In short, it was a perfect day, and the people of Fuuka were making the best of it.

Those thatcalled the capitol their home were out in the streets in droves. Kids played their childish games, darting in and out of the mass of adults with the deftness only their small frames could have. The adults, when not scolding the young, shopped at the many stores, and stalls that lined the market districts. All sorts of entertainers set up shop wherever they could find free space; From jugglers with their sticks of fire, to expert musicians who struck up fine tunes on their wooden flutes, and guitars. All made their utmost effort to keep those that passed by entertained, if only for the brief seconds that it took to pass by them.

However, there were two figures in the throngs of thousands, that were not particularly enjoying themselves. They walked along with the people of the capitol, but it was clear to even a child, that they were not from this city. Those that walked near them, took great care to not bother them in the least. Many even switched to the opposite side of the road, instead of even being remotely near the two outsiders.

"Natsuki, why are we here?" One of the two asked the other in a deep, almost animal like voice. This one, a man, towered over those he walked alongside, including his companion. He wore a full-length black robe, that hung loosely over his body. However, even though it did its best to cover up the mans features, it was as clear as the day was now that he was a well built man. Upon his head, he donned a great black hood, that did well to cover his head, and facial features.

"I already told you." The other one, Natsuki, started in a deep yet still very feminine voice, "I need more crystals." She finished, touching the handle of one of two arcane pistols that sat in leather holsters strapped to either of her hips upon a loosely fit leather belt. A belt which somehow managed to keep a pair of several sizes to large, dark blue khaki shorts from falling right off her slender frame. The rest of her garb included a pair of thick-soled leather shoes, and a matching dark blue doublet, with poet style sleeves. Atop a head of long blue-black hair sat a gold-trimmed, black tricorne complete with crimson plume.

"Again?" The man responded, "Didn't we do that when we were in Aries, how have you run out so quickly?"

"That was over three weeks ago." Natsuki returned, "We've done a lot of jobs since then."

"Still..." The man said in a concerned tone, "You shouldn't use that thing so readily, we aren't with the clan anymore. It is expensive to replenish our stock so often."

"I don't need another value of money speech Duran." Natsuki replied curtly. She couldn't take another of her companions long-winded speeches, that he seemed so content on giving to her, "You don't need to be so concerned, I know how these things work."

The robed man, Duran, sighed, "Of course you do...But as your guardian, I hate it when I have to hear you complaining when we all we have to eat is bread, and water."

"I do not!" Natsuki proclaimed defensively, and loudly, scaring several nearby citizens witless

"Uh huh..." Duran started, "Remember that one ti-."

"Here we are." The female traveler stated, interrupting her partner just in time. In front of them was a small two-story building. A simple sign hung from the second floor balcony. A large crimson crystal was painted on the thin piece of wood, below it was the word Karan's. Natsuki guessed it was the name of the shopkeep, "Let's hurry up, and do this so we can get out of here." She called over her shoulder to her partner, and walked towards the shop.

Natsuki gently pushed open the shop's simple wooden door, and walked on through. As both she, and Duran passed the threshold from vibrant city to quaint shop, a high pitched bell chimed somewhere in the small enclosure.

Almost immediately after the bell rang a voice called out from the back of the shop, "Hold on a moment, I'll be right with ya!"

Natsuki used the time to browse the store. The shop was a dimly lit old building, everything was made of old mahogany, and the air was incredibly stuffy. All in all, it had a very antique feeling to it. All along the walls hung crystals of various sizes, and colors. All were cut to perfection. Spread haphazardly across the floor were many shelves covered in alchemical instruments, in the same crystalline material.

"Hmm.." Natsuki heard Duran muse behind her.

"What is it?" Natsuki questioned, turning to face her partner.

"Nothing much..." Duran returned as he leaned close to one of the shelves, "Doesn't seem like business is very good though." He continued before he blew strongly on the shelf, procuring a large cloud of dust in the process, and sending himself into a coughing fit.

"It's not that surprising." Natsuki stated, stepping back from the settling cloud of particles, "Not much use for an Arcane shop in a city of humans."

"I suppose your right." The man agreed as soon as he stopped to cough. Carefully he stepped away from the shelves, and took up a protective position behind Natsuki.

The female traveler continued to peruse the shop, only stopping when she found the objects she had been looking for. Atop one of the shelves sat a small bin filled to the brim with diamond like crystals. They glinted dimly in the meager light of the shop. Just looking at the jewels caused a bit of excitement in the young woman. It had been quite sometime since she had used, much less even seen such perfection, and she couldn't wait to see how good they would work with her weapons.

"Welcome, welcome!" A voice shocked Natsuki away from the bin of crystals, and towards the back of the shop.

Standing behind the store's counter stood an aged man. He had a large hook nose, and a head of balding snow white hair. He wore a simple pair of overalls, a pair of large horn-rimmed glasses, and a smile that had seen better days.

"What can ol' Karan do for ya now, hmm?" He asked rather eccentrically as he adjusted his glasses.

Natsuki looked at the old man skeptically, but quickly shook off her feelings. She turned from the man, and quickly grabbed the bin of crystals off the shelf, "I want enough of these to fill this bag." She stated simply, unhooking an empty black cotton pouch from her belt, and placing it next to the bin atop the store counter.

"Oh?" Karan mused before adjusting his glasses again, "And what would such a young lass like ya need with so many chargers?" He questioned squinting as he looked over Natsuki, it only took the shop owner a moment before he saw the pistols strapped to her waist, "Oh, ho!" The man exclaimed, "Why didn't ya say so sooner my dear?!" He asked before Natsuki even got in a word to answer his first question, "Dear me...A pair o' Volg, never woulda thunk it." The man finished with a whoop of laughter.

"Whatever, just fill the bag." Natsuki replied coolly, she didn't have time to waste with a senile old man.

"Right, right..." Karan answered hastily, and started to transfer the crystals into the bag a handful at a time, "So..." The shopkeep started, breaking the silence that had come over the shop, "What might a couple o' youngins like ya be so far south, and away from yur clan eh? Could ya be plannin' on enterin' the tournament?"

"What tournament?" Natsuki questioned, the question perking her interests.

"Ya don' know about it?" Karan asked, and continued before waiting for an answer, "It's the knight's tourney, people from all over the realm gather every year for it, it's pretty big. The entire city pretty much shuts down for a whole week startin' tomorrow."

"What kind of tournament is it?" Natsuki asked, her interest rising at every tidbit of information the old man gave out.

"Well close combat o' course." Karan answered like it was the most obvious answer in the world, "How else would Knights fight?" He then asked rhetorically, "Entrants are pitted against the best knights we got, the winner gets a mountain o' gold." The old man raised his arms as far as they could go to both his sides for emphasis, "Though o' course...no one has ever won, and this tourneys been goin' on close to fifteen years now."

"Is that so?" Natsuki answered.

"Yep, no one. Our knights are first rate, no common sellsword gonna beat them. Though o' course no Volgs ever entered before." Karan spoke as he finished topping the black bag full of gems, "Bet you'd give em a real run for their money, entry is free, and race don't matter as far as I remember."

"Hmm..." Natsuki mused the thought of entering the tournament. She, and her partner could always use more money, it wasn't such a bad idea as far as the young Volg was concerned.

"Alright little missy, that'll be ten gold pieces." Karan stated, trying the end of the black bag closed, and handing it back over to Natsuki.

"Ten?!" Natsuki exclaimed, "That's robbery!"

Karan shrugged, "Not much demand for Arcane goods in this city my young Volg friend, gotta make a profit somehow. I can guarantee ya that these crystals are the best ya gonna get, short of getting them straight from one of yur own."

Natsuki scowled as she realized the validity of his statement. The crystals he had were in peak condition, and she hadn't found a human run store yet that matched the quality of this one. So, gritting her teeth, she procured a similar pouch from a pocket in her shorts, as she pulled it out it jingled softly as the coin inside bumped against one another.

Sighing, the female Volg undid the leather cord, and pulled out ten glistening gold coins from the black bag, and placed them on the counter top. Almost as soon as the coins touched the wooden surface, Karan scooped them up in one fluid motion, a wide grin on his face.

"Pleasure doin' business with ya." The shopkeep called after the retreating form of Natsuki, as he disappeared back into the recesses of the store.

"We need to find a room..." Natsuki stated firmly as soon as they were back into the flurry of the city streets.

"Please tell me your not planning on actually joining that competition." Duran said back.

"Why not?" Natsuki asked.

"It's ludicrous." Duran replied gruffly, "You know you can't fight in a melee tournament."

"I know...But you can." Natsuki responded with a slight grin.

Duran was silent for a moment before he sighed, "I should have seen that coming. I don't suppose I can say no, can I?"

"You've got that right." Natsuki replied starting down the packed street, "Besides, we're running low on funds anyway."

"I told you not to waste all those crystals like you do..." Duran said slightly forlorn.

"Don't start with that again..." Natsuki stated firmly, "Besides what do you have to lose, it's not like you can lose."

Duran sighed again, "Fine...But, what will you be doing while I'm fighting. I don't suppose you'd be in the stands watching like a good little girl..."

"It'd probably be better if you focused on the fighting, not what I'm gonna be doing." Natsuki stated, internally smiling.

"I was afraid you were going to say that."

"Don't worry, every thing's gonna be fine." Natsuki reassured her partner, "And when we're done, we won't have to worry about money again. Now let's hurry, and find someplace to stay. If that shopkeep was telling the truth, one's going to be hard to find."

And with that the duo traversed the crowded streets in an effort to find a room to spend the next week.

* * *

**A/N**: An introductory chapter of sorts. A prologue if you will. Subsequent chaps should be longer...I should stress should be, but I'm going to aim for 3k a chap... we'll see how it goes.

In essence this is a rewrite to my old story. Since I dislike how that one has went. I am going to take a long time working on this one, because I don't want what happened to my other story to happen to this one.


	2. Duran

**Chapter 2 – Duran**

Duran woke groggily to the sounds of an early morning rush of people outside the window of his disheveled room. He, and her partner had spent most of the night looking for room and board. To the large Volg's estimate, they had not found this shod of a place until half past midnight, and the effects were apparent. He had even slept in his robe, something he always made sure not to do.

Sighing, he slowly rose from his bed. Though calling it a bed was a gross overstatement, the sorry piece of furniture was little more than a bale of hay thrown over a wooden frame. Reaching his full height, Duran worked out a terrible crick from his back as a result of sleeping on the poor resting spot. In hindsight, the large Volg would have rather slept on the cold wooden floor instead, but what was done was done, he reasoned, and thought no more of it. Instead he looked around the room, something he was to tired to do the night before.

The room matched the same makeshift state of the Volg's bed. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made out of the same cracked, broken wood. It was like the builders just found dead fallen trees and lashed them together in some unknown haste. Duran was afraid that one wrong step might send him, and his considerable weight right through the floor. Though so far it had managed to hold, it did not do so without the wood creaking, and groaning at his every step.

"It's only a matter of time." He muttered, looking at the floor disdainfully. Shaking his head, he made his way over to the room's solitary window, if it could even be called that. It was more like a simple hole that had been punched through the wood with some oddly shaped tool. The emptiness was not even graced with a covering for protection from the chill night winds.

As he passed the other bed in the room, the Volg wasn't surprised when he found it empty. He had heard his female compatriot leave more than an hour ago. At the time he had let her go, knowing full well that the female Volg wasn't going to let him in on her plans. But now he was incredibly curious as to where she had gone, and for what. It wasn't like his partner to be up at, or even near dawn hours, which signified the importance of her task to him. But at the same time, since she did not want his assistance in the mater, Duran guessed that whatever his partner was planning was going to be something that he himself would not approve of and thus he could also make a guess that it was going to be on the shadowy side of the law.

Though in truth he did not really mind, though he put up the front whenever in the vicinity of his partner. Law and order were for the other races in the realm, and as far as he was concerned, it was his choice to follow them or not. But while obeying laws did not worry him. It was the fact that breaking any sort of law usually brought significant dangers to the offender that did. Dangers that he would not be able to protect Natsuki from should they find her.

Peering out the window, Duran attempted to relieve himself of his pessimistic attitude. Though he found the task hard to accomplish, as he always did when he was thinking about his female counterpart at times like this. In an attempt to relieve some of his stress, He took an inane interest in the people walking on the streets down below.

Even in the dim daylight, people were out in the streets in droves. Men, women, and children of all ages walked as one in hushed excitement. Initially he was quite surprised to find so many people out so early. But he quickly came to the most logical conclusion. The tournament. The same tournament he was supposed to be entering today. The same tournament he had no clue as to, where, when, and how he was to enter the event. Suffice to say, his attempt to calm himself backfired.

Grunting, Duran turned from the window and towards the door in preparation to leave. He decided that the earlier he started, the earlier he would arrive at this destination. Besides he was sure that it would not be very hard to find the event grounds. All he would have to do would be to follow the crowd, nothing hard about that at all. But what would be hard, was fighting his way through the throngs of people. Sure they would most likely act like they had did the previous day, staying out of his way as much as possible. But it still would only get him so far, he couldn't expect them to walk in one direction any faster than they were going. So, before it got any more crowded in the city streets, the Volg would make sure he was as early as possible. He would rather not miss his chances to enter, and thus have to suffer the complaints of his dark-haired partner.

Making one quick scan of the room, he made sure he had every belonging he owned on his person. Knowing full well that anything left behind would not be here when, and if he came back to this establishment. Sure he, and his partner had rented the room out for the next week, but he was skeptical on the validity of that reservation. Just as much as he was about the durability of the floor.

Satisfied he had everything, he left the room as quickly, and quietly as he could. Wary of the people that might have been staying in any of the rooms adjacent to his own. But the task proved nearly impossible. Even outside his room, every step he took caused massive creaking throughout the shoddy tavern. After a few cautious steps the Volg abandoned his mission, and walked normally down the cramped hall, and down the equally creaky stairs.

Reaching the ground floor, Duran had never been more grateful to be on solid land than he was right at this moment. With an equally grateful sigh, the Volg casually made his way towards the front door, through the ghost like tavern. Even the Innkeeper was absent from her post near the front door. He wondered if even she had abandoned her dwelling in anticipation for the coming festivities.

As soon as he left the tavern's front door, Duran was immediately thrust into a sea of bodies. Even if he wanted to escape the flood, the surprising quickness of the crowd proved the feat impossible even for the Volg, and his immense size. With nothing else to be done, he let himself be swallowed up by the crowd, and joined in their rush to the arena.

The walk, if it could even be called that, it was more like a march, lasted far to long for the Volgs liking. Duran had not known the scope of the city before then. Sure he had thought it was big, if not the biggest city in the realm. But surely he could not even begin to believe that it was _this_ big. The sun was already high in the sky beating down upon the ground, by the time he, and those he had walked alongside were even graced with a glimpse of the high gothic roofing that was the Fuukan arena.

The street he had traveled down emptied into a large plaza, that surrounded the white marbled arena. Many streets like Duran's own ran into the plaza, and from every exit way people poured through in a seemingly endless flow. Duran had had enough of being surprised by now, but it was still no less impressive to the Volg. He had not believed the shopkeep from the previous day when he had said that the entire town shut down for the event. But seeing so many people had worked to quickly reverse that conclusion.

As he traveled through the stone park that was the plaza. Duran surveyed the crowed from his heightened position. He was slightly disappointed when he saw no one that looked like they would be entering the tournament. He had been hoping he could find a knight, or fellow contestant to follow to the registration area, or whatever sort of sign-ups that were being held. But as his luck would have it, he found no such person. Though that was not saying much. In this crowd he would have been lucky to spot another Volg in the masses, much less one human out of the thousands that milled about. So he continued to walk alongside the humans, keeping a watchful eye just in case a contestant might be spotted. Though he did not rely heavily on the possibility that might happen.

As plaza emptied into arena, somehow the density of the crowed thinned out significantly. Inside the far cooler arena, Duran now could take his time and think about his next move, instead of being pushed about by those around him. And take his time he did. He stood just inside the great arena, and was glad to see that the inside was lined with guards at almost every turn. Most, if not all, of the guards stood at the many intersections and stairways that filled the inside of the arena's main hall. And in a surprisingly efficient manner, they expertly guided the masses of people to their seats.

Duran watched on silently, amazed at how such a potentially chaotic environment was being handled with such ease. Though it probably did not hurt that the tournament had been going on for near a decade, at least that was what Duran thought it had been going on for. He could not quite remember what the old man from yesterday had been saying. However Duran quickly returned to the more pressing matter of having to find out where he was supposed to go. He scanned the guards for one that seemed to be doing little to nothing at all. He did not want to detract from their obviously difficult job of keeping the peace. It did not take him very long to find one he could use.

Standing not very far from where he stood, stood a lone knight who seemed to be supervising the others. Although Duran gave the lone knight far more credit than he deserved. It was clearer than the day was outside from the knight's posture that he was shirking his duties. He leaned haphazardly upon a golden-bladed halberd, and as Duran closed the gap between them, he saw the knight let out a big yawn, without even bothering to remotely hide the fact. And as he got within earshot he could hear the knight talking to himself, though the Volg quickly corrected himself when he heard the obviously female tone beneath the orange tinted burgonet she wore.

"Gah...I can't believe I'm stuck here doing this stupid crap, like a common foot soldier. I should be in the tournament. It's not fair I tell ya!" The female knight exclaimed rather loudly, drawing much attention from knights, and passerbys alike. Duran could definitely notice a slight slur in her voice, and had to wonder if it was normal, or the cause of something else.

"Excuse me..." Duran said softly, just enough for the women to hear. But it seemed that she either did not hear him, or chose to ignore him because she continued her monologue.

"Stupid blondy. Thinks she's sooo high and mighty, well i'll show her. We'll see who gets the last laugh, ooohhh yes we'll see." The woman finished her rant with a short cackle, and continued in small whispers like she was having her own private conversation with herself.

Duran had half a mind to just ask one of the busy knights, but reasoned that since he was here, he might as well just get it over with, "Excuse me..." He repeated, with a little more force, and grabbed the knight's shoulder.

"Whadya want?!" The women exclaimed spinning on a dime, obviously perturbed that her conversation with herself had been interrupted. Though as she finished turning to face Duran, she staggered a bit, before being able to stand fully upright to face the Volg. There was no doubt now in his mind that this knight had hit the spirits early today.

"I was wondering if you could tell me where I can find the registration area for this tournament." Duran asked politely, hiding his amusement.The woman was silent for more than a moment, and Duran wondered if she had not heard what he had said. But just as he was about to repeat himself the knight spoke up

"Woah, your a big one ain't ya?" The woman said in wonderment, like she had just noticed the fact, despite having been looking up at him for close to a full minute now, "I bet your entering the tournament huh?"

Duran answered the question with a simple, Yes, and a nod.

"Well then, why the heck are ya standing around here?!" The knight exclaimed, "You should be with the other contestants, over that way!" She continued, pointing down the hallway to their left, "If ya don't hurry, your going to miss out you know."

Duran did not bother to correct the knight. He had dealt with many a drunk, and knew how to handle them. Either you paid them no mind, or you gave them a solid punch to the face. Since this one wore a steel helmet, was surrounded by a bunch of her friends, and had not picked a fight with the Volg, the punch did not seem to be justifiable. So he merely thanked the knight, and walked off in the direction she had pointed, leaving her to continue her private conversations with herself.

As he continued down the path given to him by the knight he soon left the hustle of people rushing to find seats for the upcoming festivities, and was granted a reprieve of near silence. He thanked several gods that he himself did not believe in, but thought that it was necessary to thank someone for the blessed absence of noise. He could already sense that his highly sensitive ears would be ringing for days now.

The grand hall he had been in earlier soon narrowed into a small, dimly lit tunnel, and by Duran's estimates he was nearing the opposite side of the arena by now. He briefly wondered if he should have trusted the words of a drunk, but quickly rid himself of the thought. More often than not, at least in his experience, a drunk was more apt to tell the truth than a lie.

But as he contemplated turning back around, and asking another knight the hallway opened back up into a meeting hall. Not as big as the main one, but big enough to house a couple hundred people. And house a couple hundred people it did. The hall was packed to near capacity with men, women, and even several that had probably never have had the need to shave yet. Some wore simple robes, some were complete with full-plate armor, and others had everything in between. Likewise, the weapons differed as much as the armor. Some had massive Zweihanders strapped to their backs, while others had simple daggers loosely fitted to their waists. Duran figured he had found his destination.

As soon as he passed from dank tunnel to packed hall, behind him a mechanism clanged to life, and a sturdy iron-grey gate slammed down blocking retreat from the gathering. As soon as the noise resounded through the tunnel, the entire hall burst into life.

"Finally! lucky number two hundred shows!" A bear of a man in simple cotton clothes, near Duran exclaimed excitedly as he clapped the Volg on the back, "Was wondering when you would get here." He finished with a laugh, walking away from Duran to join a group of similarly clothed men in a corner of the hall.

"Two hundred?" Duran silently questioned as he looked around the room. He supposed that there were nearly two hundred people here, and guessed that this was the extent of the registration process. The first two hundred to show get their chance to shine. Granted it was a simple procedure, but the Volg supposed it worked well enough.

The sudden squeal of a second iron gate caught Duran's, as well as the entire room's, interest. Everyone soon hushed themselves into silence, as three knights walked into the hall from the side opposite the Volg.. Duran was thankful of his heightened hearing when the leader of the three started to talk. He was sure that those around him could not hear a word of it.

"So ladies and gentlemen. It seems that you have all made it." The lead knight, a male that looked in his early twenties, with spiked blond hair and a handsome complexion started. He wore a dress uniform, unlike his entourage whom were in full battle gear. Several medals of distinction adorned his chest, "As such I would like to formally welcome you all as this years participants of the Knight's Tournament. I would like to wish you all the best of luck."

At the young mans words the area turned into a shouting contest of gleeful cries. But it was quickly silenced when the knight raised his hand for quiet. Duran was somewhat impressed at the obedience of two hundred random people towards a singular individual. If that did not say something about the position of Fuuka and it's knights, he was not sure what else could.

"I admire your energy, but you should save it for the tournament." He said with a smile once the noise died down, "Now before we enter the contestants seating area, I must ask as is tradition. Would anyone like to be the first to test their strength?"

At the words, would anyone like to go first, everyone in the room started to look around to see if anyone was brave enough to be the first. Duran could never understand what the problem of going first was to humans. None of them ever seemed to want to be the first when it came to events such as this. And so when no one else did, Duran raised his hand.

"So we have a taker this year, do we?" The knight seemed happy to Duran, "Very well then, come up here will you? Make way for this brave man folks."

At the knight's words, the sea of people parted, allowing the Volg to walk to where the knight stood. As Duran walked through the crowd of people he took the time to survey the other contestants. As he made assumptions about each of the men, and women he looked at, he started to notice something odd from several of the contestants. While most of the contestants looked at him with odd wonder, as to why he would want to be the first to lose he supposed. Some looked at him more intently, almost as if they were sizing him up. And as he stared those odd individuals down he noticed that they carried the same air about them as did the knight he was making his way towards.

He could not help but give a silent chuckle. Planting knights in the sea of contestants. He wondered why they would do such a thing. He guessed it may be a back up in order to protect the 'vast wealth' that the winner was supposedly given. But he thought he might be looking to far into it, the old man they had spoken to yesterday said that no one had won before, so to protect their assets seemed a bit far fetched. As he reached the male knight he came to a second conclusion that seemed a bit more believable. Which was, to give the tournament a bit more energy. If no contestant has ever won before, then surely many of the fights probably ended quickly, and many more were largely uneventful. To place a couple knights in the mix would undoubtedly give at least some of the fights an interesting quality. The conclusion sated his curiosity, and allowed him to focus more on the events at hand.

"Well now my good man." The knight spoke first, when Duran had reached him, "Might we know the name of the one brave enough to go first?"

"Duran." The Volg answered simply.

"Duran?" The knight before him mused with a cocked eye, "That is an odd name, tell me, what nation are you from?"

"The Northern Steppes." Duran stated simply yet again.

If the knight in front of him was surprised at this bit of information, he did not show it. However the rest of the room did not have the training this knight had, and most if not all of the contestants started in hushed conversations with one another over Duran's statement.

"Is that so?" The knight mused again before a slight smile graced his lips, "Well then, I wish you luck my friend. Now then, if everyone will follow me, please form a single line, the tunnel ahead is far to narrow for anything less." The knight called out, and proceeded down the tunnel he had entered from, Duran followed closely on his heels.

As they walked down the tunnel the blond knight explained the rules of the tournament to them, the odd way the tunnel had been constructed allowed for his voice to reach even the farthest person behind them.

"When we exit this tunnel there shall be a clock-work tournament bracket on the wall to your left. As you exit one by one please fill out your name on the next available piece of paper closest to the one that the person in front of you filled out. The first person will fill out the piece closest to the mouth of the tunnel we are currently in. After you fill out your name, there will be seating arrangements on your right side. Please fill them in order. The first person sitting in the left most seat of the first row. Does everyone understand this?" The knight called out, and received a resounding yes from every participant. Minus Duran who simply nodded in affirmation.

"Very good. You will all be fighting one on one battles with our knights. A win will move you up the bracket. A loss will knock you out, simple enough. If you should win, please return to your seat and watch the rest of the ceremonies. If you lose, there will be knights on stand by to escort you out of the arena, or to the infirmary, whichever is required. On average the first day will see us half way through the first round, so please enjoy yourselves. And the best of luck to you all." The knight finished, and almost on cue the tunnel opened out into an arena full of cheering spectators.

Wishing he had a good pair of earplugs, Duran followed the knight's instructions. He filled out his name on the massive clockwork machine, that was the tournament bracket, and sat in the seat he was told to sit in.

The inside of the Arena was no less impressive than the outside. There were several tiers of balconies, towering over the ground level seating. Duran had to guess that close to fifty-thousand people were jam packed in already, and still many of the higher up balconies were left without people. Though soon they too would be filled to capacity. And if Duran's ears were not threatening to start bleeding from the unbearable amounts of noise assaulting him from all sides. He would have been far more impressed with the state of the stadium.

As he waited for the rest of the contestants to fill in the rest of the seats. Duran let his mind wander, in an attempt to lessen the noises assaulting his ears. Inevitably his thoughts drifted to what Natsuki could be doing at the moment, and He made it a point to press her on the issue when they met back up at the inn. But before he could think of a method to extract this information from the stubborn girl, the volume of the crowd met the impossible task of raising a few decibels. Unable to ignore this new volume, Duran immediately shifted his attention back to the proceedings of the arena. At first he could not find the source of the new commotion, and it must have showed. Since the man who had taken a seat beside him gave him an elbow nudge directing the Volg's gaze down to the stadium floor.

Opposite where he, and the other contestants sat. A massive iron portcullis was in the middle of slowly being raised by unseen forces. The large tunnel behind the gate was cloaked in blackness, that not even the stadium lighting could penetrate. The crowd continued their cheering as the gate inched it's way to the top. As it fully opened the stadium lighting was immediately shut off, draping the crowd in blackness. Instead of making the crowd quiet down, the cheering only intensified, making Duran wince in pain. He made it a mental note to bring some sort of earplugs for tomorrow.

A brief moment after the lights went out, a select few were turned back on. These left all but the first few rows of people covered in darkness, but gave everyone an unobstructed view of the stadium's grassy floor. Duran watched the giant tunnel expectantly, waiting for whatever attraction would be appearing from the depths. He was shortly answered, when the front end of a column of knights penetrated the stadium lighting. As soon as the first row were in a position to be seen by the crowd, again the crowd raised it's volume, and again Duran struggled with pain. But his pain was belied with an intense curiosity about the knight's he was seeing.

While the bulk of the knights were all dressed in a suit of standard orange tinted platemail. Those that headed up the column were unlike the rest. None had an officer-like uniform among them, and each was as different as the next. At the head of the column, and dressed the most like an officer. Was a blond haired women. Her armor looked like it had been fashioned from pure gold, and was crafted in a way much different then the other knights that followed behind her. It was much more curved, and streamlined, and reminded the Volg of patterns that the Dwarf's favored, unlike the angular patterns that the Humans seemed to take a liking to. She carried a silver two-handed flanged mace in one hand, using her shoulder as a support. Even from this distance, the Volg could tell the woman had a determined personality just by the way she carried herself.

Flanking the first knight on either of her sides were two more women. On the blond's left was a girl that could not have been older than his partner Natsuki, and far younger than any officer should have been. Dressed in simple clothing, the young woman had crimson hair, and wore two metallic gloves that ended in razor sharp claws. Unlike her compatriots she seemed to be uninterested in the entire affair, almost like she was being forced to participate. And if this woman was to young to be participating, the one on the blond's right looked far to old. With gray hair, a simple robe, and a rapier dangling at her waist. The elderly woman was the epitome of knightly behavior, and a stark contrast to the redhead beside her.

As the knights crossed the field they paid no heed to the roar of the crowd. Not one waved, or acknowledged their fans in anyway. They merely marched in perfect unison from their entrance, to a similar seating box akin to the one Duran, and his fellow contestants were situated in. When they reached near the halfway mark, the entire stadium was once again engulfed in florescent lighting. Duran thought it odd that the lights had even been shut off in the first place, since nothing particularly special happened. But he decided it was a topic not worth his time to pursue, and so returned to sizing up his competition.

As the knight's seating arrangements were merely an aisle away from where the contestants were seated, Duran got a good luck at each, and every knight that passed him. Though that was not saying much, since other than the three officers that were armorless, every other knight in the column was safely hidden behind complete sets of platemail, which included helms. Each one moved like the one before him, rigid, and uniform, just like he expected knights to act in a professional setting. He would not be able to gather any information yet, he would have to wait to watch them battle for any sort of reliable deduction.

Having nothing more to do at the moment, Duran folded his arms across his chest and waited. Taking an inane interest in the stadium's grass. He had no idea how much time had passed, until he noticed a woman walk across the stadium floor, he could see a small device carried in her hand. Looking to his left towards the knights he saw they had all taken their seats, he spotted the three officers in the first three seats of the first row. If they were seated like the contestants were seated, then he would be fighting the blond haired woman first thing. He had to chuckle to himself, the first match, and he would be defeating a higher-up. He wondered how the crowd will react, but stopped short when a booming voice assailed his ears, through grimacing eyes, he saw the woman speaking into whatever device she was holding, and it made her voice echo loudly throughout the entire stadium. It hurt him even worse than the crowd had.

"Gooood Morning, everyone!" The woman announced over loudspeakers, very chipper, "Me, and the knight's of Fuuka welcome you all to the 24th annual Knight's Tournament!" The crowd went into a frenzy of cheering, and hooting. The woman raised her hands in an attempt to calm them down again, "Now, now. I know your all excited, but save it for the fighting." The crowd listened to the announcer, and quieted down, "All right then! Since you listened so well, how 'bout we get this tournament started!" The crowd immediately flared back into action, "Please make some noise for someone you all know, and love. General Haruka Suzushiro!"

At the mention of her name, Duran saw the blond-haired woman stand, and make her way down to the stadium floor. She was greeted with a roar of cheers, and even with all the support she remained as stoic as ever. Duran was impressed.

"And give some noise for our first contestant!" The woman announced. She did not even say his name, which annoyed the Volg, but he knew the bias the people of this country were bound to have in a contest like this. Without making a fuss he stood, and also made his way down to the green floor. The announcer did not speak again until both Duran, and the general had reached her. And even then, she spoke directly to them, and not into the device in her hands. To which Duran was grateful.

"Now then, there's to be no excessive use of force. If you're knocked to the ground, and stay there for more than ten seconds, you automatically forfeit. Other than that, anything goes. Good luck to both of you. You can start whenever you're ready." The announcer rattled off, then retreated a safe distance from both of the fighters. Duran turned from the announcer, and towards his opponent eager to get this over with.

"Alright, let's hurry up and get this over with!" Duran's opponent shouted needlessly. She turned to face the volg, pointing her mace at him with one hand. He was surprised that she could hold such a massive weapon as hers without the need to use both arms, but it mattered little. She would still have to lose this match.

"So, right to it then?" Duran asked, crouching into a hand to hand combat stance, "I'm ready whenever you are."

Without another word, the general charged Duran, bringing her mace high above her head. Duran watched on ready to counter her attack. He was hoping for a challenge, but it looked like he would not get his wish. The general had already made fatal battle mistake number one, attacking first. And she did so in such a sadly predictable manner. The way she held her mace, and the way she was charging at the Volg, left very little options left to her. Duran knew what she was going to do before she had even reached him, and perhaps before even she herself knew.

So when Haruka aimed a well placed blow towards Duran's shoulder, the Volg was ready for it. He caught the weapon before it even came close to hitting him. Then in one fluid motion he closed the small distance between himself, and the blond general, taking hold of her right forearm in his free hand. Then with little effort, he flipped the woman over his shoulder like she was a ragdoll, even in her armor. She landed on her stomach with a metallic clang. Duran quickly finished the fight by disarming her, and kneeling upon her back keeping her rooted to the position. The entire match lasted less than a minute.

"G-Get off me you offish lug!" The blond yelled, flailing about as she tried to escape Duran's hold.

"Is that the way someone should speak to the person that just beat them in a fight?" Duran replied smugly, it was not everday he got a chance to upstage a person of obvious standing in front of a crowd of thousands. And while he did not enjoy being in the spotlight, it did not hurt to savor the moments every now and again when he had the chance.

"I'll speak to a commoner any way I please. Now get off!" She yelled again, and tried to escape once more. But the Volg's submission hold was to much for the smaller human.

"It seems we have a winner folks!" The announcer squealed over the loudspeaker much to Duran's displeasure, "In a major upset, our first contestant has won! What a display of skill! Whoever this mystery man is, it looks like this one'll be a runner for champion for sure. Let's give him some congratulations!" Almost as if the announcer had control over the stadium by switch, the crowd went from stunned to crazed faster than the Volg thought possible.

Having his fill of being in the limelight, Duran rose and instantly made his way back to the spectator's box. Totally ignoring everything around him. His fight was done, and he was not needed for the rest of the day. So instead of returning to his seat, the Volg continued up the stairs, past the contestants box, hoping that he could return to his room at the inn to rest. However at the top of the stairs he was stopped by the spikey-haired knight from before.

"What are you doing?" Duran eyed the knight suspiciously beneath his hood.

"I'm sorry, but you must stay for the duration of the tournament. We have certain rules in place." The knight responded.

"Have to stay? That's ridiculous. I've won already, why must I stay?" Duran did not want to start trouble. But the sounds of the stadium was getting to him more and more, and he was afraid of the negative effects it might have on his long-term hearing. He needed to get somewhere much quieter, and soon.

"There are rules that we have put in place to keep people from trying to steal spots into the tournament. It is hard to monitor so many people at once, especially with he way we do things. Surely you understand." The knight responded with the up most of professionalism. Something Duran admired.

Duran sighed, "I understand. But I assume you know what I am?"

As if startled by the question the knight in front of him paused for a second. To many it would seem like nothing, but Duran had lived long enough to know how to read people, "Yes well, I still have my reservations."

"Well reservations or not, I need to leave this arena. And I'll do whatever it takes. It is far to loud for me here. I'm not going to risk permanent deafness because of a few unnecessary rules. So it's your decision to make." He tried to sound as polite as possible. But making such a thinly veiled threat polite would have been to great a task for even the most gifted orator.

"Ahem..." The knight in front of him coughed, which was obviously a move to gain some time to think, "Very well...I suppose something can be arranged. However there is one rule that will not be broken. As a contestant of this tournament you won't be able to leave the stadium grounds. It is one way we keep track of those who have been knocked out. There are rooms that everyone will have to stay in, I can take you to yours it if that is what you wish."

"Hmm..." Duran thought on the option given to him. As long as it was quieter than the main part of the stadium it would suit his needs, that part was easy enough. But he worried about his partner Natsuki. Not because she would not be able to look after herself, but because he did not know how he would be able to meet her again in such a massive town. But when the next battle started, and the crowd's roar flared up again, Duran quickly made his decision, "Fine. Anywhere is better than here."

"Very well, follow me." The knight responded clearly relieved, and walked off towards the hall that they had used to enter the main section of the arena. But before they entered the darkness of the tunnel, Duran noticed two of the contestants in the last row staring at him rather intensely. Like himself, they both wore robes that covered their features entirely. But rather than the black he wore, theirs was of a rich purple. He could tell that they were both knights, and paid them little attention as he strode by. His task at the moment was not to observe his competition, but to get to the silence of his new quarters.

Duran followed his guide through the outer arena. They turned through a seemingly endless maze of tunnels. And before long, Duran had no idea which way they had come. Even if he had wanted to leave the arena, he would not know which way to go, and supposed that was the point. If those that were actually in the tournament could not get outside easily, then those that wanted in could not do so just as easily. The Volg found it slightly unnecessary but if it got the job done, he guessed there was not much to complain about.

"Alright, we're here." The knight spoke as he pushed open a simple wooden door open with a slight squeal. Inside was a simple four walled room. A small bed in one corner, an oaken desk and chair, and a small bedside table with a small lamp were the only furnishings in the tiny chamber. But to Duran the windowless room was like a noble's bed champers compared to the room he had stayed in the previous night, "You will be staying here for the tournaments duration. I would like to stress to you to not try to leave the stadium at any time. Doing so will forfeit you from the tournament."

"Fair enough." Duran said as he sat down on the bed, and rather than lay down he leaned backwards against the cool stone wall. When he did not hear the knight leave he broke the silence that had come between them, "Is there something else you need?" Duran asked the knight as he stared at the ceiling.

"N-No, of course not. If you'll excuse me, I'll be returning to the stadium. Have a good day." The knight spoke quickly, and left the room.

Thankful to be alone, Duran shifted himself so he lay upon the surprisingly soft bed. He wondered what he should do. It was still quite early in the day, and he had nothing to do. He could not leave the stadium, and he surely would not be able to find his way back to where the fighting was being held, even if he wanted to. It seemed that the only option left to him was to sleep to pass the time. Which he supposed would not be such a terrible idea, at least then he would not have to deal with the incessant ringing in his ears.

So despite the fact that he was not very tired, he still managed to drift himself to sleep. His last thoughts were of those two knights he had noticed looking at him as he left the arena. For some reason he had a bad feeling about them but could not think of a why to go with this irrational feeling.


End file.
